This semester, I’m doing a 3-credit internship at the University of Arizona Special Collections with Collections Management Archivist Lisa Duncan. While I’m familiar with this department, I already learned so much on my first day. I met Lisa during her reference desk shift, where she explained Reading Room operations and how reference questions are assigned to the staff. She then gave me an overview of the internship: I’ll be processing the George Chambers collection, creating a pop-up exhibit on a topic of my choice, and possibly shadowing an instruction session. I was also offered the opportunity to learn about preservation and reference. While my classes covered the breadth of duties of an archivist, I was still surprised by all the responsibilities one can have between the reference desk and working on a collection. My day wrapped up with a tour of the facility, meeting other student workers, and reading the online processing manual.

Dunbar alumni reunion event.

I was also invited by a fellow graduate and Knowledge River student, Mario Villa, to participate in a community outreach event at the Dunbar Pavilion. I had been interested in visiting Dunbar (the site of what was Tucson’s only segregated school), so this was a great opportunity. I'm also drawn to events that support historically underrepresented communities. Head of Special Collections Verónica Reyes-Escudero took a group of students to the Dunbar school reunion, where we digitized photos and other documents belonging to alumni. We provided USB drives with the scans for them, and the scans will eventually be accessible in our digital collections. I helped intake and describe items, which was harder than I anticipated. I was conscious of how the language I used on the form could impact future researchers and community members. Overall, I'm grateful to have been a part of this event, where I heard stories and saw images from Dunbar's past.